The Little Couple

I've watched this show all four seasons it has been on and love it! If you aren't familiar with it it is about a "little" couple and their daily lives. Jen is a doctor (neonatologist) and Bill is a business man. They live in Houston and for the most part are an ordinary couple. They are trying to start a family and decide that it would be too complicated if Jen carried a baby so they have decided to have a baby through a surrogate.  Jenn has to go through the retrieval stage of IVF...which is basically everything I did except when they transfer the embryos it will be into another woman.

The last couple episodes have been so heart wrenching! They started this season with their third attempt to get eggs. I can't imagine having to go through so many meds, ultrasounds, and blook work only to have the cycle canceled. On this cycle, Jen had two follicles, but they did an ultrasound right before she went into the OR and she had lost one. They rushed her into the OR so they could get the second one. In the 15 minutes it took them to get her ready for the procedure, she had ovulated. Oh, my heart broke for her! I can't imagine!

Last episode, they were on the fourth attempt. She had two follicles they would be draining to extract the eggs. I forgot to mention a normal woman is put to sleep during this procedure, but she couldn't be because she has a difficult airway. I felt so bad for her as I heard her during the procedure. Every time the doctor tried to get the follicle the ovary would disappear into her abdomen. He finally got one! One...I would have been heart broken, but they were ecstatic! I guess it only takes one! Fortunately, the one egg fertilized to form an embryo which they froze until they are ready to transfer it into the surrogate.

This show has really made me appreciate the journey we have been on. No, I don't have a baby, but I could be up against greater obstacles than I currently am. I haven't had to cancel any cycles due to my body not responding to the meds, I don't have to travel thousands of miles to my fertility doctor (Houston to LA), and I'm of normal size.

Like any story I hear of a couple struggling with infertility, I wish them all the luck in the world. I hope the surrogate that Jen and Bill choose is very fertile and is able to carry their baby without any complications!

The Little Couple (Click to learn more about the show.)